


Halloween misadventures of the socially awkward

by vanishing_apples



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, FOCUS WHAT FOCUS, Fluff, M/M, Other, primals are all children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 17:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanishing_apples/pseuds/vanishing_apples
Summary: "This has to be the longest night Lucilius has ever had the displeasure of living through."Loosely-connected stories taking place on the same Halloween night surrounding curious residents of a particular neighbourhood.





	1. Chapter 1

“Hello there! Come on in, little one.”

Lucio beckons the fluffy mop of brown hair and half of a red eye peeking out from behind his mailbox. The moment their gazes meet, the eye disappears back behind its refuge. 

_”Small, domesticated animals are stupid. They would think a predator being out of their sight means they themselves are concealed from it.”_ \- An uninvited memory of Lucilius provides its explanation from the back of his mind. Not that Lucio would so easily equate a human child to an animals as he did… or call himself a predator, for that matter.

Crouched down so that they are at the same eye level, he tries again, tone more hushed this time. Like coaxing a shy kitten out from behind the back of a drawer. 

Well, so much for staving off the bad allegory.

“It’s okay, Sandalphon. Lucilius usually doesn’t get up until before nightfall. Besides, I can’t dress you up for trick-or-treating until you come in, can I?”

The boy keeps his distance, shaking his head vigorously. He doesn’t want to step into any structure with Lucilius potentially lurking inside. Not after the man tried to ‘harvest his blood’ with a syringe the last time he visited. His brother is an awful bully, but following that incident, Sandalphon could not get a night’s sleep without sharing a bed with Belial for well over a week.

Lucio deflates with a defeated sigh. Instant trauma is simply Lucilius’ standard greeting for all of Lucifer’s friends. For a child so young, he’s more impressed that Sandalphon keeps returning at all. He has high hopes that this would be the one enduring friendship for his youngest brother.

“Your apprehension is justified. I’ll just call Lucifer ou-”

“Sandalphon!” 

Lucifer’s voice accompanies the sound of hurried footsteps coming from behind Lucio. Soon enough, little Lucifer peeks out from under his armpit. 

Sandalphon immediately shakes off all traces of fear to dash towards Lucifer, tackling him in a hug that almost sends them both off balance. Lucifer could barely react before he is dragged by the wrist out the door by a very anxious six-year-old. 

“Wait! We can’t go without costumes...” - Lucifer digs his heels into the ground as he tries desperately to keep Sandalphon from running off. 

After much pleading, the younger boy finally agrees to stay, on the condition that they remain outside. Sandalphon’s tiny fingers are firmly curled into fists around bunches of Lucifer’s t-shirt, preventing him from re-entering the house, in doing so effectively kidnapping Lucifer at the doorstep of his own residence.

Large blue eyes blink at Lucio in a silent plea.

“...But I already have everything prepared...”

The elaborate, handmade costumes for Lucifer and Sandalphon, accompanied by painstakingly crafted props and a makeup set that Lucio specifically borrowed from his theatre troupe await inside. They aren’t exactly things children could swiftly throw on outdoors and leave in a matter of minutes. But Sandalphon simply refuses to further compromise. 

White stretches of fabric float down from above to land on Lucio’s his head just as he is about to despair, blanketing him in darkness and an uncannily familiar smell of fabric softener.

“Bedsheets! You little fools are getting bedsheets!” 

Lucilius’ harsh voice falls from above like an onslaught of hail. Sandalphon lets out a terrified squeak before ducking behind Lucifer. Reasonably so, as the sight of a man who looks like death warmed up glaring at you from an attic window would easily scar any child that is not Lucifer.

Lucio pulls the bedsheets off his head to the horror of gaping eye holes ripped into them.

“Lucilius! I just washed these!” 

“Well, too bad. They’re shitty costumes now.”

Before further squabbles could be exchanged, Lucifer has pulled one bed sheet over himself and carefully drapes the other over Sandalphon. It’s a painfully simple idea, but they don’t look at all too shabby for two tiny spectres. Lucilius has even cut the fabric to appropriate sizes and dirtied them a little so they look more fitting.

“What do you think, Sandalphon?” - Lucifer asks.

Bright red eyes gleam with delight through the holes in the sheet, offering their voiceless approval. It simply doesn’t matter to Sandalphon what they dress at. Getting to match Lucifer alone is all that he could ask for, even if holding hands through two layers of fabric is a little tricky.

“Good? Get going then.”

“But Lucilius, they still need their ba- ow!” 

The jack-o-lantern baskets follow a purposeful projectile aimed squarely at Lucio’s head. They rattle upon collision, land next to the children’s feet and are promptly picked up by eager hands.

“There. Now get off my lawn!”

Sandalphon and Lucifer could not oblige any more quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

_This was a terrible idea._ Granted, he wasn’t actually responsible for this particular stupid idea (as is usually the case), but Grimnir was still a fool for going along with it. He wanted to look cool in front of Europa, that’s why. Coupled with a reluctance to discourage any of her suggestions, he too eagerly gave it his enthusiastic approval.

Grimnir is just a coward, in more ways than one.

“Stop that, you’ll stretch my clothes.” - Shiva’s authoritative tone briefly brings him back to his senses.

“Sorry!” - Grimnir yelps. He has entirely failed to notice when his hands began clutching at Shiva’s sleeve. 

Shiva’s glare is almost scarier than the rickety frontgate to the haunted house they are about to enter. And _that_ is lined with some disturbingly realistic looking skulls. 

Shiva is decidedly not decorated with skulls. Hell, he’s hardly decorated at all. Michael said the plain tattered cloak on his shoulders was the only thing Shiva would allow her to put on him. Anything else he deemed ‘too childish’. It almost makes Grimnir feel bad for his own elaborate fallen angel getup.

“Ohhh… This looks more intimidating than I imagined…” - Europa, the one who suggested that they begin the evening with a tour of the recently opened haunted house, is having reservations.

“It’s okay. Everything is simply special effects. If it gets too scary, we can make a super fast walk out the exit.”

Alexiel already has one of her wolf paws clasped with Europa’s hand and they haven’t even made it past the gate. Grimnir turns to Shiva, entreaty evident in his mismatched eyes.

“No.” - A curt, pitiless reply to his unvoiced question.

“Huh!? But I-”

“You agreed to this of your own accord. Drink the poison you picked.” 

Grimnir feels close to crying, but has no choice but to blink his accumulating tears away when Europa turns around to face them. 

“Let’s get going, shall we?” - The girl seems significantly emboldened with Alexiel’s hand protectively wrapped around her own. There is still fear in her eyes, but silently burning within them is also a newfound resolve.

Grimnir swallows, wishing for half of that courage to rub off on him within the next ten minutes.

\---

Not much happens for the first long stretch of their walk through the asylum-themed attraction. Not much aside from the gradual dim of the ghastly lighting, creaking rusty beds, a chandelier or two crashing down, or other objects mysteriously falling to the ground (each instance would coax a shriek out of Grimnir), that is. Unfortunately Europa’s growing courage has proven to be non-infectious. And Shiva has long given up on reminding Grimnir to let go of his sleeve, half out of pity at his genuine distress.

At some point the girls have gained a good distance away from them and are now treating the experience more like an art gallery tour. Consequently, they are also the ones to come across the first big scare. 

“My word, Alexiel! Look at this excellent makeup work!” - Europa gasps in awe at the bloodied, mangled facial features of the asylum patient actor who has just crawled out from under a broken hospital bed to grab her ankle.

“You’re right! Quite impressive, if I do say so myself.” - Alexiel quickly joins her in admiring the actor, who is now confused out of his mind at their unorthodox reactions.

“Ooooh I think I recognise this brand of bodypaint from the way it smears. We used this for our own play at school, didn’t we?”

“Uh huh. I didn’t know we could get this colour out of that palette, though. How do you think they did it?”

With the poor actor put on the spot, Europa and Alexiel’s conversational flow trails off into a separate world of their own.

Shiva throws his head back in frustration. He expected something like this, but not this early into the trip. It’s only natural that he - as the oldest of the group - should go get them back on track… at which point Shiva realises Grimnir’s hand is missing from his wrist. A cold void opens up in his chest.

He turns around to the sight of Grimnir standing before a towering, grisly figure. The boy is petrified with his shoulders in the firm grasp of its grimy hands, with bulging knuckles and chipped, yellowed fingernails. He isn’t crying. Dry eyes stare at the ‘creature’ blankly as if his tears and screams have been sucked right out of his body along with his soul. 

Alexiel and and Europa’s synchronised cries fall on deaf ears, Shiva’s reasoning brain already shut off as his limbs move on autopilot. Grimnir only regains consciousness at the sound of Shiva’s fist planting itself into the ‘monster’s’ side. 

They most likely won’t be returning to this haunted house for the next few years.


	3. Chapter 3

“Are you sure you don’t need me to carry that for you?” 

_Or carry you. Which would be preferable._

Lucifer eyes Sandalphon and his half-full basket of sweets with concern. As the evening draws on, it only becomes clearer that his younger friend struggles to keep up with shorter paces and partly obscured vision. To make matters worse, they seem to have wandered into a less familiar part of the town, neither being very outdoor-oriented nor have a love for exploration.

“Nuh-uh!” - Sandalphon huffs, trying to puff his chest out in a show of endurance. He would hate for Lucifer to be burdened by him in any manner, especially when he has yet to grow big enough to protect him from _that man_. The monster cohabiting with his beloved, saintly Lucifer called Lucilius.

“...I see. How about we stop at that house, next?”

And maybe ask them for some water aside from sweets. Sandalphon needs to rest, and Lucifer feels obligated to make sure that he does.

They follow the small cobblestone path leading to the door, past an impressive array of masterfully crafted DIY Halloween decorations, which seem to compete for attention with the neatly trimmed hedges and blooming flower beds. The atmosphere evoked is a very confused one, as if the house’s front lawn could not decide if it wanted to be homely or intimidating. 

Lucifer covers the eye-holes on Sandalphon’s bedsheet as they walk past a grotesque wax head impaled on a stake. 

Gingerly, they knock on the door upon reaching it. Lucifer has thought himself ready for anything but clearly, he was wrong. For one, the door opens in response much sooner than he anticipated. And he surely didn’t expect to be greeted by a towering slab of muscles of a man. As if he isn’t frightening enough, the man has massive horns sticking out of wild, jet black hair and one eye underneath an eyepatch. An eyepatch with crossbones painted on top. 

Sandalphon leaps in front of Lucifer, his arms stretched out to shield the latter as he stands dumbstruck, small shoulders visibly trembling. Lucifer swears he can hear the boy growl under his bedsheet. 

“Ah… Sandalphon, calm down, now.”

Lucifer looks up at the man, the gears in his head scrambling to assemble an apology. That is, until a peculiarly out of place object falls into view.

“I think we’re safe, Sandalphon. He has a bow on his horn.”

The man’s lips thin at his innocent observation, caught between the opposing forces of a grimace and gut-busting laughter. The odd tension deflates out of him in mere seconds, however, as his composure returns.

“You kids here for the candy or what?”

“Oh, right! Tr-trick or treat…?”

“Tri…” - Sandalphon tries to echo Lucifer’s words while still evidently apprehensive, his arms not yet retired from their task of ‘protecting’ the older boy to even hold up his basket.

The man’s brows furrow, eyes narrowing as he scrutinises Sandalphon.

“Wait a minute. The bedsheet, red eyes. Didn’t you just drop by already, kid?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, ten minutes ago. You even got my idiot husband to give you double portions by convincing him you had a sick little brother at home. What games are you trying to play?”

“No! I…” 

Poor Sandalphon babbles, his eyes stinging from anger. Being a smart child, he has already arrived at a conclusion as to how this misunderstanding could have happened, but his limited linguistic capabilities prevents him from defending himself from the false accusation. This time, it is Lucifer’s turn to protectively put himself between the man and Sandalphon.

“Sir, we’ve been together all night and I can assure you Sandalphon did not come here prior to this visit.”

“Huh.” - The man squints, not entirely convinced by his words.

A sing-song voice cuts into their tense conversation from inside the house.

“Tzar~! You had better not be scaring off the kiddies again!”

“We may have a returnee on our hands here. Weren’t you the one who kept stressing even distribution, Cain?”

The man called Cain glides to the door in possibly the most extravagant top hat they have ever seen. His lanky built dwarfs next to his partner’s imposing height. Cheerful pale blue eyes greet the children.

“Hello, there! I was hoping for more trick-or-treaters this year, but this part of town has been quite the desert of cheer as always.” - Cain sighs, taking off the hat and holds it to his chest. - “We actually have plenty of sweets to spare so it’s fine if you return once or twice, actually.”

“But...!!” 

Sandalphon is close to tears. The sight of his distress causes both Lucifer and Cain to panic.

“Sandalphon! Please don’t cry…”

“Oh no. Did I say something wrong? You can have a third helping if you feel particularly hungry.”

“Sir, as I said before he’s not-“

“STUPID BELIAL!!”

Sandalphon’s bawling shatters the evening’s relative tranquility like a tossed pebble through blown glassware. Even Reinhardtzar is no longer spared from the collective anxiety that has already overtaken Cain and Lucifer.

“...Tzar, I don’t think-”

“Fine, fine! I was wrong! That was some other kid you know, then. SNow stop crying. Please!” 

His plea fell on deaf ears, the majority of it drowned out by Sandalphon’s slurred babbling about how his brother is an ‘asshole’ (Lucifer doesn’t know what the word means nor where Sandalphon has picked it up, but his guts feel its implications to be anything but good). 

An imploring gaze is thrown Cain’s way from his desperate partner. He gobbles it up in seconds with a devilish grin.

“I get to use the bathroom first in the morning for a week.” - Cain names his price.

Reinhardtzar’s eyes widen as if his partner has suddenly sprouted another limb.

“A week!? Have you any idea how much time you eat up doing God knows what in there every time?”

“Well, my routine takes effort, and I would call that a fair price, Tzar. Either way, I lose nothing even if you choose not to take it.”

“Like hell you do. I know you are suffering through this as much as I am. If I don’t compromise, we might as well stand here and let the kid cry until-”

“WOULD YOU SHUT YOUR KID UP!?” - An angry bellow pierces their eardrums from across the street, causing Sandalphon to cry even louder.

“Sorry!” - Reinhardtzar tries to pacify the irritated neighbour before turning back to his negotiation with Cain. - “Three days.”

“Six.”

“Four.”

“Five.” 

“...Fine.” 

Though the situation is barely appropriate for it, Cain could not help a triumphant little noise before pressing a swift kiss into Reinhardtzar’s cheek on his tiptoes. With the hat in his hands, Cain kneels to Sandalphon’s eye level and gets to work.

“Sandalphon, is it not? Alright, Sandalphon. How about a little magic as an apology for our mistake?”

“...Magic?” - His curiosity piqued, Sandalphon momentarily blinks away the tears.

“Yeah, magic! See this hat? How there’s nothing in it? You can check for yourself that it’s empty.” 

Cain presents the hat to Sandalphon, who sticks his hand out from under the bed sheet to pat around its velvety insides.

“Empty.” - He confirms.

“Right! Now watch carefully as the magic happens, don’t blink or you might miss some trick involved! Though I can assure you, there are none.”

After giving Sandalphon a moment to rub away the last remnants of tears, Cain begins to flip the hat in his hands with accelerating speed. Even Lucifer has his eyes glued to the display, already spellbound by the practiced fluidity of Cain’s hands. The hat soon spins into a colourful blur from which neither children could make out its original shape. Then it abruptly comes to a stop, bottom facing up.

“Tadaa~!” - Cain chimes as he places the hat into Sandalphon’s hands.

Ruby eyes sparkle with wonder.

“Candy!”

The hat is filled almost to the brim with sweets.

“You kids can have all of it, the hat too. I make plenty of these in my spare time off work anyway.”

The grin on Cain rubs off on Reinhardtzar in the form of a smile. The are both relieved to see Sandalphon no longer upset (the latter more so that they don’t risk being subjected to a lawsuit). 

“Thank you very much, sir!” - Lucifer is the first to verbalise his appreciation, prompting Sandalphon, who is so enthralled he nearly forgot about manners, to follow his example, 

“Thank you…”

“It’s nothing. Sorry again for the mistake earlier. As a matter of fact, you both walked a pretty long way to get here, no? How about Tzar bring us some drinks to enjoy out here? We can give you a ride back home later since it’s getting late as well.”

“Oi, don’t decide things for other people.” 

Reinhardtzar glowers at Cain, only to get a cheeky grin shot back at him.

“So apple juice or chocolate milk?” - Cain deliberately ignores his partner’s protest.

“Chocolate milk, please.” - Sandalphon and Lucifer say in unison.

Reinhardtzar’s shoulders slump in defeat at the three pairs of expectant eyes focused squarely on him. He makes a mental note to settle scores with the owner of one particular, obnoxiously gleaming pair later.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you sure you don’t want to come down? It’s a holiday, after all.”

“Are you suggesting that I join you in the hollow practice of handing out our resources for no good reason?”

Lucio pauses, reconsiders the possibility of Lucilius mixing lethal substances into the handfuls of candy that he would drop into children’s baskets. He has to vigorously shake the thought out of his head.

“On second thought…”

“Good. Then leave me alone.”

Lucilius promptly goes back to sipping his paper cup of fluorescent energy drink mixed with a double-shot of espresso and powdered Caloriemate, eyes never stop scrutinising the flayed carcass of _something_ pinned to his desk. 

Lucio sighs. He wanted to get his brother down from the attic, at least. Breathing in the dust perpetually coating his shelves, jars of preserved soft tissue and working under such poor lighting all day can’t do his health any good. But regardless of the time of year, pulling Lucilius out of his self-made nest runs the risk of inflicting him on an innocent, unsuspecting public. The principle endures even when they remain within the private confines of their own home, as evident by Sandalphon’s reaction to the mere _idea_ of Lucilius’ presence earlier.

It really is better this way: Lucilius and the whole neighbourhood can go about life in perfect comfort without mutual acknowledgement.

“Okay… Just come down anytime if you feel like having proper dinner.”

“Hm.” - Lucilius huffs, not once turning to face Lucio.

“Oh, by the way.”

Reminded of something, Lucio navigates through the heaps of bunched up clothing, wrappers and crumpled paper towards Lucilius to kiss the top of his head. The latter’s shoulders jolt in surprise.

“Thank you for the bedsheets, that was a brilliant idea. Lucifer looked very happy, too!”

Just as Lucilius is about to snap at Lucio for the excessive contact, the doorbell rings, beckoning the latter away from his firing zone.

“Coming!” 

And with that, Lucio disappears under the trapdoor of the attic room. 

Lucilius is finally returned the gift of solitude yet it tastes curiously bitter.

\---

“Shiva, I’m fine now! Please st-mmph!”

Grimnir whines through another cookie Shiva has just shoved into his mouth. Inexplicably, the older boy seems even more distraught than he was when they first entered that haunted house, with force-feeding Grimnir as his way of working through the stress. 

Not that Grimnir hates it. He particularly loves the specific type of cream biscuits Shiva has been giving him and would munch through a whole pack by himself if let to his own devices. The idea of Shiva being this troubled just doesn’t sit well with him, however, dampening his appetite.

“Shiva, I think Grimnir has had enough. Any more and you’ll make him fat.” - Europa sounds concerned as she flicks a crumb off their youngest’s cheek. 

“What exactly is wrong with you? We told you it was no big deal. Even the manager of the place said we could come back next year after the apology.” - Alexiel crosses her arms.

Shiva squints. Even he doesn’t know exactly what is wrong with himself, and would prefer not to try rationalising it. He doesn’t mind a rounder Grimnir, actually. The brat barely eats right and is too willowy for his own good. If Shiva could stop being able to lift him by the scruff so easily as he currently can, that would be considered progress.

The routine continues until Shiva’s hand reaches into his sweets basket to find it already empty. 

“Uhm… What if we go back to trick-or-treating now? It’s not too late for another round, I think.”

“Y-Yeah! My dad is probably still busy dealing with swarms of kids right now anyway.” - Alexiel practically throws herself onboard with Europa’s idea of spending the rest of their night feeding Shiva’s weird nervous tic.

“Me too! My dad is… uh… Actually I don’t know what he’s doing but let’s just get more candy!” 

Grimnir really just likes the idea of having more candy. And distracting Shiva from whatever episode he’s having. Shiva agrees that he needs to distract himself.

\---

It really is a little late for trick-or-treating after all. The festivity in the air grows thinner as the street begins to empty. Most houses have run out of sweets to give and all paths lead to the one residence that all of them have made a point of avoiding all evening.

The one supposedly housing an actual madman in its attic. 

Despite its mundane exterior - down to the comically stereotypical white picket fence - horror stories shared among the neighbourhood’s children surround it like creeping vines. Mostly, they tell of the blue-eyed madman who stuffs trash bags with the butchered corpses of dogs and cats that have recently gone missing. That he digs holes in their backyard at midnight for no good reason and assembles golems out of dead animal parts. Granted that none of the stories have been substantiated.

“So… We just go for it?” - Alexiel picks at the fur on her paw glove, hesitant as they stood before the door.

“Let’s. I mean, it looks like a nice, welcoming place to me! Plus we should be safe in numbers and this brightly lit a street.” - Europa does her best to sound encouraging.

“Yeah! If anything weird happens Shiva will just punch their faces in. Or Alexiel can kick them into orbit!” 

Grimnir’s off-putting enthusiasm is impervious to all three uneasy gazes directed at him. Fueled by that same unchecked fervour, he also makes himself the first to knock. 

Shiva’s fingers subconsciously hook into Grimnir’s while Alexiel clings to Europa, both with one foot half-turned the opposite direction in anticipation of having to grab their friends and run should the situation necessitates it. 

In reality, the one to greet them could not look any more harmless. This has to be the most sparkly vampire all four of them have ever seen, and Grimnir has been to his fair share of carnivals and amusement parks.

“Trick or treat!” - They say with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“Hello, little ones! My, what do we have here? A lovely little fairy, a werewolf, one dashing little demon and uh…” 

Lucio squints at Shiva, who gives him an apathetic shrug.

“I’m whatever you make of me. And he’s a fallen angel, not a demon.” (Grimnir makes a small noise of gratitude).

“I see... Well, you all look amazing and that deserves plenty of treats-”

“Is it true that you have a monster in your attic, mister!?” 

“Grimnir!” - Alexiel and Europa collectively gasp in horror.

Lucio laughs. The less perceptive would miss the hint of uneasiness peppered in his voice.

“No, no. You misunderstand. My brother lives there. He’s not very social, and might seem a bit odd to people outside of our family due to his nocturnal lifestyle but I can assure you, he’s completely harmless… I think.”

The last two syllables are mumbled under his breath.

“Anyway! Here, have some candy-”

Loud rustling coming from the back of the house cuts him off and causes the children’s holds on each other tighten.

“Must be the cat again, that little rascal!” 

Lucio lies. They don’t own any pets. At least it doesn’t sound like the house is being broken in so there really is no cause for alarm. He quickly convinces himself it must have been _some kind_ of animal.

“Aw! Kitty!” - Europa’s cheerful cry breaks up the tense atmosphere.

The lie works, fortunately.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucilius really could ignore the tapping. Hell, he wouldn’t even bat an eye if a brick came crashing through his window, or a few for that matter. Most of the world is dead to him once his concentration really kicks into high gear. But a flashlight pointed straight at his face when he’s trying to work is unforgivable. 

He fetches the baseball bat and a flashlight of his own before unlocking the window facing their backyard. 

Dangling from a tall tree branch right outside is a white sheet of fabric. Lucilius grimaces, getting into position so he could give it a good thrust with the tip of the bat. He couldn’t care less for whoever, or whatever, is hiding underneath.

But the sheet promptly floats to the ground before he could get a good aim. Graceful as a cat, the figure leaps from where it perched to his rooftop and soon has one foot braced on his windowsill. Lucilius nearly topples backward from surprise if not for the stranger’s hand grabbing his arm.

Red eyes seem to flicker at him at the threshold of light and darkness.

“Good evening to you, dark-eyed beauty.” 

It all happens too quickly. Lucilius finds himself secured from falling by the waist in addition to his arm being caught. The bat has already dropped from his hands. As the shock wears off, irritation takes its place. Lucilius sucks in a deep breath.

“LU-” 

“Wait wait! I’m not here to hurt you, I swear. Just dropping by to say hello so no need to get defensive.”

Bold of the bastard to claim naivete with one hand clasped over his mouth. But not immediately screaming for Lucio gives him just enough time to recognise those eyes: familiar shapes and colour, and also that Lucilius’ captor looks no older than his mid-teens. Ah~, this must be the older brother of that pesky little boy his Lucifer has been spending time with.

His curiosity piqued, Lucilius pries Belial’s hand from his mouth. The intention to bite off his fingers has already left his mind.

“What do you want?”

Belial chuckles, relieved to see Lucilius no longer up for violent confrontation. 

“Like I said, I just came to say hi. And also wanted to see for myself which genius managed to spook my cute Sandy so badly some weeks back.” 

Belial tries to cup Lucilius’ face but ends up pulling him down by the chin instead, due to the man being at least half of a head taller than him. He doesn’t seem to mind, at least nowhere near the degree of utter annoyance Lucilius himself exhibits. Worse yet, Belial looks like he’s enjoying himself immensely.

“Didn’t expect to find this exquisite of a gem, to be honest. You’re hot stuff. I mean, I figured it’s hereditary among your family but damn. There’s just something insidious, rotten about your aura in particular that I just can’t put my finger on, nor get enough of for that matter…” 

A thumb traces Lucilius’ lower lip as Belial seems almost mesmerised staring into his eyes. 

He’s had enough. Being the object of some brat’s juvenile affection is the last thing he wants out of life right now. Belial is wasting time just being in Lucilius’ presence.

“If you don’t have anything better to say then get out before I really use that bat on you. Or worse, call my brother.”

“Don’t you mean the cops?”

“No.”

“Interesting. Then how do I get you to tolerate me, sugar?”

Aside from feeling ready to vomit at the trite advances, something else clicks at the back of Lucilius’ mind. _This little thug might turn out to be useful_. He can use an extra pair of spying eyes, extend his field of surveillance on Lucifer’s activities if he so desires. 

“Keep an eye on my younger brother when he plays with yours, provide me with detailed accounts of the time, place and their activities bi-weekly. And give me your family’s medical history, preferrably complemented by DNA samples.”

Belial snorts loudly, slapping his thigh with great amusement.

“Oh man, you’re even better than just a pretty face! Does this mean I have a chance?”

“Are you up to the task or not?” - Lucilius replies dryly with a question.

“Yes, certainly. Anything for you.”

Lucilius recoils slightly when Belial kisses the back of his hand. Physical contact from his own family repulses him, let alone a complete stranger he has just met. 

The sound of unfamiliar engines stopping in front of the house pulls their collective attention towards the room’s front window. 

_Visitors? At this hour?_ The thought makes Lucilius’ stomach stir but does not stop him from bolting across the room and nearly pressing his face against the glass. 

It’s even worse than he assumed. Some random schmuck is dropping Lucifer off. His brother has spent time inside a stranger’s car with adults _he_ does not know. 

Lucilius bites the tip of his thumb, unleashing his mounting frustration upon the poor digit.

“Oooh~ scary. Don’t do that though, you’ll hurt your pretty finger.” 

Belial narrowly dodges an encyclopedia aimed for his head.

“Really, Cili, you’re just precious. Can I call you Cili? I already knew your name before coming here, I must confess. Mine’s Belial, by the way. I’d love to hang around but it seems those nice folks just dropped off my Sandy, too. Gotta get home and makes sure he brushes his teeth and all.”

The back window swings open once again. Belial propels himself with one foot on the windowsill back onto the tree branch from where he came. But just before taking off, he turns around at Lucilius one last time.

“Oh, right. You never answered whether or not I have a chance with you.”

Lucilius’ nose scrunches up at the reminder and Belial thinks it’s the cutest damn thing he’s seen in his life.

“I’ll make it clear right now that I haven’t an ounce of interest in uncouth, worthless _children_. My begrudging tolerance is the most that you will ever get.”

“Huh, dunno if I can do anything about that first part. Definitely _can_ work on the last two, though.” - Belial shows every indication of having stopped listening to Lucilius after the first sentence. - “All I need is time. Just you wait, love.”

He still hasn’t the slightest clue how on earth Belial moves so quickly, but there is nothing Lucilius could do to stop the swift peck to his forehead. In the same span of a few seconds, Belial is already out of sight.

This has to be the longest night Lucilius has ever had the displeasure of living through.

**Author's Note:**

> Is this long overdue? Yes. Is the timing bad? Yes. Is it terribly vapid and self-indulgent? Big yes. But it's a thing now. 
> 
> Thank you for reading no matter how far you make it through <3


End file.
